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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23192725">Birthday Boy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/madelegg/pseuds/madelegg'>madelegg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday, Caretaking, Drinking, Heavy Drinking, How Do I Tag, Love Confessions, M/M, Vomiting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:22:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23192725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/madelegg/pseuds/madelegg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aivend didn't tell Lorenz it was his birthday, and Lorenz is not happy about it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Aivend Magus Lethei, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Privilege of Loving Him</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Birthday Boy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aivend was not a heavy drinker. He was, in fact, not much of a drinker at all, not socially or alone. His supervisor called him straight-laced; his fellow knights called him a dullard, but Lorenz found it rather nice that a man with such a difficult job could make it through the evening without a heavy drink to ease his tempers. Every evening, he came to Lorenz’s room, smelling of the sweat of the day, the steel of his armor, but never booze, even as his fellow knights went to the Knight’s Hall after the guard change and drank themselves stupid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tonight though, as Lorenz waited up for Aivend to meet him in his room as he always did, his lover did not show. It wasn’t as if he had anywhere else to be after his guard shift; Lorenz knew that as much as he knew his lover’s schedule. Still, there was a chance he was held up by his supervisor or the other knights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as the minutes ticked into hours, Lorenz knew something was off. Surely he hadn’t forgotten? A ridiculous notion. After all these months of meeting up in the evenings, Aivend would not forget on this one unassuming weekday evening. Perhaps he was playing a cruel joke, or he simply did not feel like meeting but could not be bothered to let Lorenz know. The man certainly was the inconsiderate type.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a huff, Lorenz put himself together and stormed through the monastery, preparing a few stern words to give to Aivend when he found him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the Knight’s Hall, Aivend was already drunk. One of his colleagues had gotten word that today was his birthday, and like schoolboys, they’d spread the news across the campus. By the end of Aivend’s guard shift, he was dragged forcibly to the Knight’s Hall to be toasted: to a long life and good health, “And may he lose the stick up his ass!” one of the knights yelled, to uproarious laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend had the slightest smile on his face from the start of the evening, somewhat flattered but loathe to admit it, but he did accept a pint of ale that was handed to him. And by the time it was empty, he accepted another. The ale wasn’t particularly good, but it got the job done, keeping the men drunk night after night, whether they had a reason to be or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend had certainly been drunk before, a few times, mostly before he worked for the Knights of Seiros, and those times were enough to turn him off it. He knew how he could be, how loud and blunt, and he knew he had a tendency to talk a little too much, so he preferred to stay sober, but that first ale was a slippery slope. Before he knew it, he’d lost count of how many times his tankard had been refilled as he moved around the room, laughing with his colleagues, some for the first time, lounging on the couch by the hearth, head lolled off the arm. He was having a wonderful time; truly he had no idea why he hadn’t been doing this every night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Lorenz found him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To find Aivend actually drunk was such a shock to him that he forgot most of the words he’d meant to say. In fact, he found himself simply standing in the middle of the Knight’s Hall, watching his lover bent backwards over the arm of the couch, laughing as his ale spilled to the floor and another man attempted to right it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem like you’re having fun,” Lorenz said, arms crossed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend sat up, his ale sloshing. “Lorenz!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Care to tell me the occasion? Or were you just not interested enough in our previous engagement to tell me you would not be meeting with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, Lorenz, are you mad at me? I’m real sorry! I got dragged here against my will!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz’s upper lip curled. “Yes, it seems that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A knight elbowed Lorenz, who recoiled. “C’mon, your lordliness, cut the loverboy some slack! It’s his big day, after all!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz’s brows knit and he looked back at Aivend. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend groaned and slumped back on the couch, squirming dramatically. “I didn’t wanna tell youuuu,” he whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me what?” Lorenz took a few steps closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another knight butt in before Aivend could answer. “It’s his birthday!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz’s mouth fell open and he quickly snapped it shut. “I see,” he said stiffly. “Nice of you to let me know in advance, Aivend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, you are mad!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not mad,” Lorenz snapped. “But I think you have had quite enough to drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> just haven’t had enough to drink!” Aivend shouted, thrusting his tankard toward his lover, much to the laughter of the other knights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz gritted his teeth. “If you insist on remaining, I will not force you to leave.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The unsaid threat of Lorenz’s anger hung heavy in the air, completely missed by Aivend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good!” Aivend said. “Someone fill me up then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a huff, Lorenz turned on his heel and stormed out. What a fool Aivend was, keeping this kind of information to himself. Lorenz tried not to take it personally; surely Aivend kept this sort of information from everyone, given how private he was. But if that were the case, how did the knights find out? Did he tell all of them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz meant to return to his room and leave Aivend to fend for himself for the rest of the evening, but he found himself passing up the dorms and taking a lap around the whole monastery, his turbulent emotions keeping him from staying still. The sun had already set, leaving the monastery bathed in darkness, and most of its current residents had since turned in for the night, other than the night shift guards. Lorenz side-eyed them all as he passed, wondering if they knew too, these random men and women whom he knew Aivend barely spoke to. What else did they know about his lover that he didn’t?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took less than an hour for Lorenz to pace the monastery a few times and end up right back in front of the Knight’s Hall, the party still roaring within. He walked in to find Aivend still on the same couch, barely conscious now. Clearly he had not stopped drinking while Lorenz was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ha, Lorenz is back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here to collect your boyfriend, Lord Gloucester?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you brought a cart to drag him back in!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz stepped up beside Aivend and glared down at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It think you have had enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend groaned and looked up with bleary eyes. “Hey… cutie,” he slurred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz sighed, softening a bit, and reached down to take his arm, lifting him into an upright position. Aivend rubbed his face, combing his fingers through his greasy hair, and tilted his crooked smile up at his lover. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm… still mad at me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Now get up,” Lorenz said, though his tone lacked harshness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever you say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz waited for Aivend to stand on his own, but he just swayed a bit, then looked up at him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… gonna get up,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m waiting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t… I don’t feel good, Lori.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz sighed. “Come on, then. I’ll help you up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking Aivend’s hand, Lorenz slowly lifted him to his feet, and Aivend held his balance for less than a second before having to lean on his lover, slumping against him like a sack of grain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to walk, Aivend,” he said, and Aivend just groaned. “I can’t carry you, you brute. Straighten up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can… I am straighten…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz sighed; he didn’t know why he was trying to reason with him when he was this far gone. He would need to physically drag him back to his room or Aivend wouldn’t be going anywhere. With a grunt, he pulled Aivend’s arms over the backs of his shoulders and started to drag him out, hoping Aivend would get the hint and take a few steps on his own. He didn’t; instead he let his legs give out entirely, straining Lorenz’s grip on Aivend’s wrists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knights only laughed as their colleague was hauled out by his cross lover like a boy caught out late by his mother, offering little help. They were all too drunk to be of much use anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz dragged Aivend like this across the monastery until he thought his arms might give out, and he had to stop at the steps to the upstairs dorms. He leaned Aivend up against the wall and the man slid down until he was sitting across the steps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aivend, we have to get upstairs,” he said, shaking his tired arms out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend groaned and slouched. “Don’ be… angry at me, Lori,” he slurred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “I’m sure you had your reasons for keeping your birthday from me. I don’t care about that right now. Just please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> get off the floor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend slumped further on the stairs. Lorenz crouched down to meet his eyes, which were turned away, so he reached out and cupped Aivend’s jaw, turning his face upward, only to find that his lover’s eyes were filled with tears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’ m-mean to make you mad,” he whimpered. “I’m… mm… I jus didn’t want you to havta bother with it. You’re… busy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Aivend…” Lorenz said softly, swiping a tear from his lover’s cheek. “I know you didn’t. I am not mad at you. Take a deep breath.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend nodded and swallowed hard, and Lorenz trailed his hand up to comb his hair back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re okay,” he said gently. “Let’s just get to my room and we’ll wash you up a little and you can rest. Doesn’t that sound nice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm-hm,” Aivend mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz straightened up and put his hand out. Aivend slowly took it. His grip was far weaker than it normally was; Aivend’s hands had often crushed his own slender ones even when they were simply clasped together on a walk. Lorenz made up for his lack of strength by moving his hand to Aivend’s wrist, pulling him up with a solid yank and putting his lover’s arm around his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On your feet, Aivend,” Lorenz said gently. “I can’t drag you up these stairs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend swallowed and nodded, placing one shaky foot on the stair in front of him, and with Lorenz’s help, he pushed himself up to it. Then they took the next one. And the next. Lorenz’s shoulders were sore and he was somewhat winded by the time they got to the top, but they got to the top nonetheless, and the rest was smooth sailing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz had to lean Aivend against the wall to get his door unlocked, then pulled Aivend into the room and lowered him onto the bed. The man smelled of old sweat from wearing his armor all day, which was thankfully off, but he knew Aivend was in no way fit to be taken to the baths. Lorenz wasn’t willing to drag him again anyway. It had already taken half an hour just to get him to bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arms up,” Lorenz said and Aivend lifted his arms. “Good boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gripping it from the bottom hem, Lorenz pulled Aivend’s undershirt over his head and off his arms, tossing it in the hamper with his own dirty clothes. Then he knelt down and cupped one hand behind his calf and the other at the heel of his boot, pulling them off, one after another. Aivend stared at him as he did, and Lorenz felt a hand in his hair. He looked up to see Aivend’s brows knitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is something wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… I hate you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A spark of anger flashed in Lorenz’s chest. He straightened up, Aivend’s hand falling from his hair. “I’m sorry, what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make my chest feel tight… all the time. You stupid noble. It’s like… my chest is going to break, but all the time, and I can’t stand it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t stand you! You make everything worse, but better… the way you hang around me all the time… and when you aren’t there, I… I can’t bear it. It’s so annoying when you’re not around. I hate it, I hate you so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz was frozen as Aivend spoke. He wasn’t sure if his drunken rambles were his way of showing his affection, or if they meant something else. It was hard to parse out what he was trying to get at when he kept going on about how much he hated Lorenz.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… he couldn’t bear not to have Lorenz around?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aivend… Maybe you’d best lay down. You’re not making any sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t… urgh… maybe I should.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz sighed. “Let me finish undressing you and you can rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he reached down and grabbed the waistband of the knight’s pants and started to pull them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put your arms around my neck and hold tight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend did so, his grip loose but it held his own weight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz leaned back, pulling Aivend up off the bed a bit, enough that he could pull his pants and underwear down over his backside before sitting him back down. He rolled both to Aivend’s ankles and gently over his heels, taking off his socks with them, leaving him fully naked. His body was covered in curly hair, dark like the waves on his head, spread across his chest and leading down his stomach to his flaccid cock. His body was hardened with scars, mostly on his arms, a few on his legs, clustered around where his armor’s weakest points were. There were a few deep ones on his abdomen as well, stories he wouldn’t tell from days he kept locked in his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz moved up and kissed the short one above his navel and Aivend groaned, swaying a bit, so Lorenz straightened and put a supportive hand on his shoulder.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steady,” Lorenz said gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t… feel good,” Aivend groaned. “You’re making my head spin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the liquor, Aivend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No… stupid. You always make my… head spin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to lie down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend reached up and grabbed the ruffles of his white, bell-sleeved shirt, yanking him so hard Lorenz had to put a knee up to keep himself from falling. Their chests nearly bumped together and Lorenz could smell the ale like a cloud from between the knight’s lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aivend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think… I’m in love with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz didn’t even have a chance to pull away before Aivend’s stomach and chest lurched and he vomited all down Lorenz’s front. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… oh fuck… I’m sorry, Lori, I’m so sorry, y-you’re a mess, oh goddess…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz couldn’t even process what was happening. The heat of the vomit on his chest and stomach was matched by the heat on his face, his blush burning all the way to the tips of his ears. Had Aivend just said he loved him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend reached up with his bare fingers, trying to swipe away the vomit that dripped from his silk shirt, whimpering at the effort. Lorenz grabbed his wrist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, stop,” Lorenz said, his voice quiet. “I’ll change. It’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moved away from Aivend, stiffly untying his cravat and unbuttoning his shirt, having to do so through the wet stain, but his mind didn’t even register disgust. His body moved on its own, too shocked to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you… need help?” Aivend asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Lorenz snapped, more forceful than he’d intended. He softened as much as he could manage. “Stay there. I’ll clean you up in a moment.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend shrank at his sharp tone; Lorenz couldn’t look at him yet to see it. He pulled his shirt off and put it in his hamper with Aivend’s sweat-crusted clothes, removed his pants as well, and then got a towel to wipe off his hands as best as he could. He would have to get some water to clean up Aivend further, which would mean he’d have to take a trip to the floor bathroom, and he had to redress for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The process was awkward and took longer than he would have liked, and Lorenz did it all in a blur of shock. He didn’t care about the vomit, almost expected it actually, not on him but somewhere at least, given how drunk Aivend was. He should have prepared better. It was the confession he couldn’t wrap his mind around. And the fact that Aivend had to be drunk to admit it. Had he been hiding these feelings all this time?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz dressed, left, and returned with an empty bucket and a bucket full of water, setting both beside the bed. Aivend had finally laid down, his legs still dangling off the bed, eyes half-lidded as he started to doze, but blinked awake when the door was kicked shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Lorenz wet a washcloth and started to wipe Aivend down, starting with the drying vomit crusted around his mouth and the bits on his lap, then moving to the rest of his body, his underarms, the crevices that stank from the sweat of work. He moved down further, wiping down his lovers stomach, wetting his thick hair, then rubbing into the folds of skin around his cock, under and around his balls, down his shaft, so soft when flaccid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend didn’t react much, conscious but only just barely so, chest rising and falling under Lorenz’s slender hands. Lorenz put the washcloth on the edge of the water bucket and gently scooped Aivend’s legs up by the ankles, pulling them onto the bed. Finally Aivend spoke, words slurring heavily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...re you mad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz looked at him and blinked, then slowly sat down, resting a hand on his thigh. Was he mad? No, this wasn’t anger. What was there to really be angry about anymore? He felt like he should be elated, overjoyed that Aivend had confessed his love to him, but instead he felt a cold twist of anxiety in his stomach. By tomorrow, when Aivend sobered up, surely this whole evening would be forgotten.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not mad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend reached for him with a limp hand. “Mm… lay down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz took his hand gently and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. It was rare for Aivend to want to cuddle. This seemed like some sort of trick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And if I refuse?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend suddenly gripped Lorenz’s hand and yanked him down to the bed. He fell on his stomach, his legs kicking up behind him, and before he could right himself, Aivend turned and hooked a leg around Lorenz’s, then pressed his naked body up against his lover’s side. His mouth breathed the thick stench of ale and vomit into Lorenz’s face and he groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me up, your breath smells revolting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aivend…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aivend scowled. “Ass faced noble… You slippery bastard… no more leaving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lorenz sighed and shifted so he could face Aivend, then slid down and nuzzled into his hairy chest, feeling the man’s bulge press against his stomach comfortably. From below his chin, he could avoid the stench. Lorenz gently pressed his lips against the man’s chest, his hair tickling his nose, and closed his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Aivend’s grip on Lorenz loosened, eased up until it was comfortable, his arm draped over Lorenz’s shoulder, their legs tangled together. Lorenz listened to his lover’s breath, feeling his chest rise and fall beneath his lips, and felt him fall asleep. When he was sure he was completely unconscious, he finally worked up the courage to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aivend,” he mumbled, lips spreading into a giddy smile. “I think I’m in love with you too.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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